TV Land

Since Z turned two, I've been letting him watch television. Two is the recommended age by the American Pediatric Association, but it was also what I thought was a good age for Z to actually absorb something from the experience rather than just being entranced. I also knew that it would be hard to stop once we started, so I just wanted to put it off for a while longer.

It is pretty delightful to see him get excited about dancing cartoon do-dee-do's on the TV. I've started to record some PBS shows (Caillou, Sesame Street, Sid the Science Kid) so I have something on hand for him. John put in Toy Story for him the other night for a few minutes and Z was more excited about sticking the DVD into the machine than the show. He has spent the last week sliding DVDs underneath our TiVo since then. Hee hee. (The DVD machine is locked behind the cabinet doors.)

Anyway, now that we've entered TV land, I have to admit it can be quite a temptation for both of us now. Already. Z really enjoys it and I get some time to myself to focus on something. It is SOO tempting to turn it on whenever I need it. I need to set some limits for us so I have some kind of line to keep us from watching hours of TV every day. Maybe 30 minutes? Hmm... Most of the time he'll only watch for 15 minutes or so before moving on to something else. I guess I'll start with 30 minutes and see how it goes. It was especially nice the last few days when Z had a fever. He could rest and watch TV for a bit and we didn't go as stir-crazy staying indoors.

Well, I better go turn off the TV. Z and I need to get outside and go to the park. Thanks to Caillou for this 15 minutes of uninterrupted time.